Rare earth elements reclaimed from electronics waste
Emerging green technologies such as PV and SSL are heavily dependent on the use of raw materials such as gallium, indium and rare earth elements. However, it is predicted that global supply of gallium and indium will increasingly lag behind demand. Meanwhile, their production is highly controlled by a few countries, notably China. Furthermore, recycling systems to reclaim materials from discarded electronic waste are not yet in place. Thus, Europe’s access to these vital materials, which are crucial for complying with EU energy saving and renewability policies, is extremely vulnerable. This threat to a growing sector of the European economy was addressed by the RECLAIM project. Its goal was to reclaim indium, gallium, yttrium and europium from PVs, SSL and electronics waste by developing two pilot plants for demonstrating recycling technology. The first plant was built and operated in Spain for the recovery of yttrium and europium from spent fluorescent lamps’ powders. The second plant was constructed in Belgium and demonstrated the recovery of indium and gallium from plant panel displays and highly efficient copper indium gallium selenide solar cell PVs. Researchers also demonstrated the technical feasibility of the rapid and low-cost removal of components from printed circuit boards. This is based on selective infrared heating and the removal and storage of different components for further processing according to their material content. RECLAIM results showed that by applying the right balance of dismantling and separation techniques and through dedicated leaching, extraction and purification, the concentrated critical metals may be achieved in a condition suitable for application in comparable or other new products. Therefore, it was technically possible to recycle vital metals despite being found in low concentrations in PV, SSL and electronics waste. Intensification of recycling activities of this form of waste will help to ensure a constant supply of gallium, indium and rare earth metals to EU manufacturers, thereby helping to provide jobs. It will also encourage regional recycling activities for other discarded products and waste streams.
Keywords
Rare-earth elements, electronics waste, photovoltaics, solid-state lighting, RECLAIM
